G 850 
1910 
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Copy 1 




Capt. Amundsen's 



OWN NARRATIVE 



OF HIS 



ATTAINMENT OF 



THE SOUTH POLE 



DECEMBER 14-17, 1911 



By Roald Amundsen 



Copyright, 1912, by The New York Times Company 
(All rights reserved) 



PRICE 10 CENTS. 



NEW YORK: 

Published by The New York Times Company. 
1912 

First Impression, Friday, March S, 131". 






ECI.A309484 



Zf 






CAPT. AMUNDSEN'S OWN NARRATIVE 

OF HIS 

ATTAINMENT OF THE SOUTH POLE 

DECEMBER 14-17, 19.11. 



By ROALD AMUNDSEN 



COPYRIGHT, 1912, BY THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY 
[ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.] 



HOBART, Tasmania, March 8, 
1 1 :20 A. M. — On the 10th of Fetr 
ruabry, 1911, we commenced to 
work our way toward the south, 
from that day to the 1 1th of April 
establishing three depots, which in 
all contained a quantity of pro- 
visions of about 3,000 kilos. One 
thousand six hundred kilos, includ- 
ing 1,100 kilos of seal meat, were 
cached in 80 degrees, 700 kilos in 
81 degrees, and 800 kilos in 82 
degrees South Latitude. 

As no landmarks were to be 
seen, these depots were marked 
with flags, seven kilometers on 
each side in the easterly and west- 
erly directions. 

The ground and the state of the 
Barrier were of the best, and spe- 
cially well adapted to driving with 
dogs. On Feb. 15, we had thus 
traveled about 100 kilometers. 
The weight of the sledges was 300 



kilos, and the number of dogs was 
six for each sledge. The surface 
of the Barrier was smooth and fine 
with no sastrugi. The crevices 
were very local and were found 
dangerous in only two places. For 
the rest — long, smooth undula- 
tions. 

The weather was excellent — 
calm or a light breeze. The lowest 
temperature on these depot trips 
was 45 Celsius or centigrade. (49 
degrees below Fahrenheit.) On 
the 4th of March, on our return 
from the first trip beginning on the 
1 5th of February, we found out 
that the Fram had already left us. 
With pride and delight we heard 
that her smart captain had suc- 
ceeded in sailing her furthest south 
and there hoisting the colors of 
his country — a glorious moment 
for him and his comrades — the 
furthest north and the furthest 



south — -good old Fram! The high- 
est south latitude attained was 78 
degrees 41 minutes. 

Winter on the Ice Barrier. 

Before the arrival of Winter we 
had 6,000 kilos of seal meat in -the 
depots, enough for ourselves and 
110 dogs. Eight dog houses, a 
combination of tents and snow 
huts were built. 

Having cared for the dogs, the 
turn came to use our solid little 
hut. It was almost entirely cov- 
ered with snow by the middle of 
April. .First we had to get light 
and air. The Lux lamp, which 
had a power of 200 standard can- 
dles, gave us a brilliant light and 
kept the temperature up to 20 
degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fah- 
renheit) throughout the Winter, 
and our excellent ventilation sys- 
tem gave us all the air we wanted. 

In direct communication with 
the hut and dug-out on the bar- 
rier were workshops, packing- 
rooms, cellars for provisions, 
coal, wood, and oil, a plain bath, 
a steam bath, and observatories. 
Thus we had everything within 
doors if the weather should be 
too cold and stormy. 

The sun left us on the 2 2d of 
April and did not return until four 
months later. The Winter was 
spent in changing our whole out- 
fit, which on the depot trips was 



found to be too clumsy and solid 
for the smooth surface of the bar- 
rier. Besides this, as much scien- 
tific v/ork as possible was done, 
and some astonishing meteoro- 
logical observations were taken. 
Open Water All Winter. 

There was very little snow, and 
there was open water close by 
throughout the Winter. For the 
same reason higher temperature 
had been expected, but it re- 
mained very low.. 

In five months there were ob- 
served temperatures between mi- 
nus 50 and 60 degrees Celsius, 
(90 and 108 degrees below zero 
Fahrenheit), the lowest tempera-: 
ture on the 13th of August being- 
minus 59 degrees Celsius. It was 
then calm. On the 1st of August 
the temperature was minus -58 de- 
grees Celsius, and there v/ere 6 
meters of wind. The mean tem- 
perature for the year was minus 
26 degrees Celsius (46.8 below 
zero Fahrenheit!)" 

I had expected hurricane after 
hurricane, but I observed only 
two moderate storms and many 
excellent auroras-australis in all 
directions. 

The sanitary conditions were of 
the best all the Winter and when 
the sun returned on the 24th of 
August he met the men sound in 
in mind and body ready to set 



3 



about the task 'that had to be 
solved. 

Already, the day before, we had 
brought our sledges to the start- 
ing place for our march toward 
the south. Only in the beginning 
of September did the temperature 
rise to such an extent that there 
was any question of setting out. 

First Start for the Pole. 

On the 8th of September eight 
men, with seven sledges, ninety 
dogs, and provisions for four 
months started. The ground was 
•perfect. The temperature was 
not bad. The next day it ap- 
peared that we had started too 
early, as the temperature of the 
following days fell and was kept 
steady between minus 50 and 60 
Celsius (90 degrees and 108 de- 
grees) below .0 Fahrenheit. Per- 
sonally we did not suffer at all 
from this cold. Our good furs 
protected us. But with our dogs 
it was a different matter. It would 
easily be seen that they shrunk 
from day to day, and we under- 
stood pretty soon that they could 
not stand the long run to our de- 
pot at 80 degrees south. 

We agreed on returning and to 
wait for the arrival of Spring. 
The provisions were cached, and 
off we went for the hut. With the 
exception of The loss of a few 



dogs and a couple of frozen heels 
everything was .all- right. 

Only in the middle of October 
Spring came in earnest. Seals 
and birds appeared. The temper- 
ature was steady between 20 and. 
30 Celsius (68 degrees and 82 
degrees Fahrenheit.) 

The original plan that all of us 
should go toward the south had 
been changed. Five men had to 
do this work, while the other 
three were to start for the east 
and visit King Edward VII. Land. 

This last mentioned trip was 
not included in our programme, 
but, owing to the fact that the 
English had not reached it, at 
least this Summer, as was their 
intention, we agreed that the best 
thing to do was also to make this 
trip. 

On Oct. 20 the southern party 
started — five men, four sledges, 
fifty-two dogs, and provisions 
for four months — everything in 
excellent order. 

The Journey to the Pole* 

We had made up our minds to 
take the first part of the trip as 
easily as possible, in order to give 
ourselves and. the dogs a rational 
training, and on the 2 3d. we made 
our depot in 80 degrees south. We 
went right ahead. 

In spite of the dense fog an 
error of two to three kilometers 



4-" 



happened once in a while, but we 
were caught by the flagmarks, and 
found these on our way without 
difficulty. 

Having rested and fed the dogs 
on all the seal meat they were able 
to eat, we started again on the 
26th, with the temperature stead- 
ily between minus 20 and 30 Cel- 
sius (36 degrees and 50 degrees 
below Fahrenheit). 

From the start it was the inten- 
tion not to drive more than 30 
kilometers a day, but it appeared 
that this was too little for our 
strong, willing animals. At 80 de- 
grees south we began to build 
snow cairns of a man's height, in 
order to have marks on our return 
trip. On the 3 1st we reached the 
depot at 81 degrees, and stopped 
there one day, and fed the dogs 
on as much pemmican as they 
wanted. 

We reached the depot at 82 de- 
grees on the 5th of November, 
where the dogs for the last time 
got all they wanted to eat. On 
the 8th, southward again, with a 
ctaily march of 50 kilometers. 

In order to lighten our heavy 
sledges we established depots at 
each degree of south latitude. 
Like a Pleasure Trip. 

The trip from 82 degrees to 85 
degrees became a pleasure trip — 
excellent ground, fine sledging, 



and an even temperature. Every- 
thing went like a dance. 

On the 9th we sighted South* 
Victoria Land and the continuation 
of the mountain range which Sir 
Ernest Shackleton mentioned in 
his chart as running toward the 
southeast from the Beardmore 
Glacier, and on the same day " 
we reached 83 degrees and estab- 
lished here Depot No. 4. On the*-* 
1 lth we made the interesting disr - 
covery that the Ross Barrier term- 
inated in a bight toward the south- ■ 
east at 86 degrees south latitude l 
and 163 degrees west longitude, 
formed between the southeast" 
mountain range running from s 
South Victoria Land and a range * 
on the opposite side running in ; 
a southwesterly direction — -prob- 
ably a continuation of King Ed- 
ward VII. Land. 

On the 13th we reached 84 de- 
grees, where we established a de- 
pot; on the 1 6th we were at 85 
degrees, where, also, we made a ' 
depot. 

From our Winter quarters,. 
" Framheim," 78 degrees 38 min-v 
utes south latitude, we had been, 
marching due south. On the 1 7th 
of November, at 85 degrees, we 
arrived at a place where the land 
and barrier were connected. This 
was done without any great diffi- 
culty. The barrier here rises" in 



5 



undulations to about 300 feet. 
Some few big crevices indicated 
the limited boundary. 

Here we made our head depot, 
taking' provisions for sixty days on 
sledges, and leaving thirty days' 
provisions on the spot. 

A Difficult Climb. 

The land under which we lay 
and which we now had to attack 
looked quite imposing. The near- 
est summits along the Barrier had 
a height from 2,000 to 10,000 
feet, bill several others further 
south were 1 5,000 feet or more. 

The next day we began the 
climb. The first part of it was 
an easy task — light stops and well- 
filled mountain sides. It did not 
take a long time, for our willing- 
dogs worked their way up. Further 
up, we met v/ith some small but 
very steep glaciers. Here we had 
to harness 20 dogsto each sledge 
and take the four sledges in two 
turns. In some places it was so 
steep that it was difficult enough 
to use our skis. 

Some big crevices forced us 
from time to time to make de- 
tours. The first day we climbed 
2,000 feet, the next day mostly 
up some small glaciers, camping 
at a height of 4, 5 00 feet. The 
third day we were obliged to go 
down on a mighty glacier, "Axel 
Heiberg's Glacier," which divid- 



ed the coast mountains and the, 
mountains further south. 

The next day began the longest 
part of our climb. Many detours 
had to be made in order to avoid 
broad cracks and open crevices. 
These were apparently mostly 
filled up, as the glaciers in all 
probability had long ago stopped 
moving, but we had to be very 
careful, never knowing for cer- 
tain how thick was the layer that 
covered them. 

Our camp that night lay in very 
picturesque surroundings at a 
height of 5,000 feet. The gla- 
cier here was narrowed in be- 
tween the two 15,000 feet high 
mountains, the " Fridtjof Nan- 
sen " and the " Don Pedro Chris- 
tophersen." From the bottom of 
the glacier rose Mount " Ole 
Englstad " — a big snow cone 13,- 
500 feet high. 

Day's Splendid Work. 

The glacier was very much 
broken in this comparatively nar- 
row pass. The mighty crevices 
seemed to stop us from going fur- 
ther, but it was not so serious as 
it appeared. Our dogs, which up 
to this time had covered a dis- 
tance of about 700 kilometers, 
the last day's very hard work, ran 
this day 35 kilometers, the as- 
cent being 5,600 feet, ah almost 
incredible record. 



,6 



It took us only four days from 
the barrier to get up on the vast 
inland plateau. 

We camped that night at a 
height of 10,600 feet. Here we 
had to kill twenty-four of our 
brave companions and keep eigh- 
teen — six for each of our three 
sledges: ' 

We stopped here four days on 
account of bad weather. Tired of 
this, we set out on the 28th of 
November. On the 26th, in a fu- 
rious blizzard and in a dense snow 
drift, absolutely nothing was to 
be seen, but we felt that, contra- 
ry to expectations, we were going 
fast down hill. The hypsometer 
gave us that day a descent of 600 
feet. . 

We continued our march the 
next day in a gale, and a dense 
snowdrift got out faces badly 
frozen. We could see nothing. 
We reached that day 86 degrees, 
dead reckoning. The hypsometer 
indicated a fall of 800 feet. 

The next day was similar. The 
weather cleared a little at dinner 
time and exposed to our view a 
mighty mountain range to the 
east, and not far off — only for a 
moment — nad then it disappeared 
in the dense snowdrift. 

On the 29th it calmed down 
and the sun shone, though it was 
not the only pleasant surprise he 



gave. In our course stretched a 
big glacier running toward the 
south. At its eastern end was 
the mountain range going in a 
southeasterly direction. Of the 
western part of it no view v/as to 
be had, it being hidden in the 
dense fog. At the foot of this 
glacier, the "Devil's Glacier," a 
depot for six days was established, 
at 86.21 degrees south latitude. 
The hypsometer indicated 8,000 
feet above sea level. 



A Splendid Mountain View. 

On Nov. 30 we began to climb 
the glacier. The lower part of it 
was very much broken and danger- 
ous. Moreover, the snow bridges 
very often burst. From our camp 
that night we had a splendid view 
over the mountain to the east. 
There was " Helmer Hansen's 
Summit," the most remarkable of 
them all. It was 12,000 feet high 
and covered with such broken 
glaciers that in all probability no 
foothold was to be found. " Oscar 
Wisting's," "Sverre Hassel's," and 
" Olav Hjanland's " Mountains 
also lay here, beautifully illumi- 
nated in the rays of the bright sun. 

In the distance, and only alter- 
nately to be viewed in the fog, 
appeared from time to time 
" Moun Nielsen," with its summits 
and peaks about 15,000 feet high. 



We only saw the nearest surround- 
ings. 

It took us three days to sur- 
mount the Devil's Glacier, always 
in misty weather. 

On the 1st of December we left 
this broken glacier, with holes and 
crevices without number, with its 
height of 9,100 feet. Before us, 
looking, in the -mist and snowdrift, 
like a frozen sea, appeared a light, 
sloping ice plateau filled with 
small hummocks. 

The walk over this frozen sea 
was not pleasant. The ground 
under us was quite hollow, and it 
sounded as though we were walk- 
ing on the bottoms of empty bar- 
rels. As it was. a man fell through, 
then a couple of dogs. We could 
not use our skis on this polished 
ice. Sledges had the best of it. 

The place got the name the 
?' Devil's Dancing Room." This 
part of our march was the most 
unpleasant. On Dec. 6 we got our 
greatest height, according to the 
hypsometer and aneroid, 10,750 
feet, at 8 7 degrees 40 minutes 
south. 

On Dec. 8 we came out of the 
bad weather. Once again the sun 
smiled down on us. Once again 
we could get an observation. 
Dead reckoning and observation 
were exactly alike — 88 degrees 
88 minutes 16.6 seconds south. 



Before us lay an absolutely 
plain plateau, only here and there 
marked with a tiny sastrugi. 

In the afternoon we passed 88 
degrees 2 3 minutes (Shackleton's 
furthest south was 88 degrees 25 
minutes.) We camped and estab- 
lished our last depot, depot No. 
10. From 80 degrees 25 minutes 
the plateau began to slope down 
very gently and smoothly toward 
the other side. 

On the ,9th of December we 
reached 80 degrees 39 minutes; 
on Dec. 10, 88 degrees 56 min- 
utes; Dec. 11, 89 degrees, 15 
minutes; Dec. 12, 89 degrees 30 
minutes; Dec. 13, 89 degrees, 45 
minutes. 

Up to this time the observa- 
tions and dead reckoning agreed 
remarkably well, and we made 
out that we ought to be at the 
pole on Dec. 14th in the after- 
noon. 

The Pole Attained. 

That day was a beautiful one — 
a light breeze from southeast, 
the temperature-minus 2 3' Celsius, 
(41.4 degrees below Fahren- 
heit,) and the ground and sledg- 
ing were perfect. The day went 
along as usual, and at 3 P. M. we 
made a halt. 

According to our reckoning we 
had reached our destination. All 
of us gathered around the col- 



ors — a beautiful silk flag — all J 
hands taking hold of it and plant- 
ing it. 

The vast plateau on which the 
pole is standing got the name of 
the " King Haakon VII. Plateau." 
It is a vast plain, alike in all di- 
rections; mile after mile during 
the night we circled around the 
camp. 

In the fine weather we spent 
the following day taking a series 
of observations from 6 A. M. to 
7 P. M. The result gave us 89 
degrees 55 minutes. 

In order to observe the pole as 
close as possible we traveled, as 
near south as possible, the remain- 
ing 9 kilometers. 

On Dec. 16 there we camped. 
It was an excellent opportunity. 
There was a brilliant sun. Four 
of us took observations every 
hour of the day's twenty-four 
hours. The exact result will be 
the matter of a professional pri- 
vate report. 

This much is certain — that we 
observed the pole as close as it 
is in human power to do it with 
the instruments we had — a sex- 
tant and an artificial horizon. 

On Dec. 1 7 everything was in 
order on the spot. We fastened 
to the ground a little tent we had 
brought along, a Norwegian flag, 



and the Fram pendant on the top 
of it. 

The Norwegian home at the 
South Pole was called "Polheim." 

The distance from our Winter 

quarters to the pole was about 

1,400 kilometers. The average 

march a day was 25 kilometers. 

The Return Journey. 

We started on the return trip 
on the 17th of December. Un- 
usually favorable weather mad 
our way home considerably easiei 
than the journey to the pole. We 
arrived at our Winter quarters, 
"FramheLm," on the 25th of Jan* 
uary, 1912, with two sledges and 
eleven dogs, all welL 

The daily average speed on the 
return trip was 36 kilometers; the 
lowest temperature was minus 31 
Celsius, (55.8 degrees below 
Fahrenheit,) the highest minus 5 
Celsius, (7 degrees below Fah- 
renheit). 

Among the results are the de- 
termination of the extent and 
character of the Ross Barrier, and 
the discovery of the connection of 
South Victoria Land and probably 
King Edward VII. Land, with their 
continuation in the mighty moun- 
tains running toward the south- 
east, which were observed as far 
as 88 degrees south, but which 
in all probability continue across 
the antarctic continent. 






9 



The entire length of the newly 
discovered mountains is about 850 
kilometers. They have been named 
"Queen Maud's Range." 

The expedition to King Edward 
VII. Land, under the command 
of Lieut. Prestud has given excel- 
lent results. Scott's discoveries 
have been confirmed, and the sur- 
vey of the Bay of Whales and of 
the Barrier dome by the Prestud 
party are of great interest. 

A good geological collection from 
•King Edward VII. and South Vic- 



toria Land is being brought home. 

The Fram arrived at the Bay 
of Whales on the 9th of Janu- 
ary. She had been delayed by the 
"Roaring Forties " on account of 
the easterly winds. 

On Jan. 16 the Japanese expe- 
dition arrived at the Bay of 
Whales and landed on the Barrier 
near our Winter quarters. We left 
the Bay of Whales on Jan. 30. 
It was a long voyage, with con- 
trary winds. All are well. 

ROALD AMUNDSEN. 



MM 9 1912 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



021 648 960 3 



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